U.S. Department of Labor Investigation Results in Wyndham Hotel Franchisee Paying Back Wages, Damages, Penalties for Overtime Violations

LITTLE ROCK, AR – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), LRWINS Hospitality LLC– doing business as Wingate by Wyndham and based in Little Rock, Arkansas – paid $12,060 in back wages and liquidated damages to 13 employees to resolve violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). WHD also assessed the employer $2,054 in civil money penalties.

An investigation of two Wingate locations operated by LRWINS Hospitality in Little Rock and North Little Rock, Arkansas, found the employer violated the overtime provisions of the FLSA when it paid overtime to employees after working 80 hours in a bi-weekly pay period, instead of after working 40 hours per workweek as required by the law. The employer also failed to combine the hours that employees worked at multiple locations in the same workweek when determining whether overtime was due, and failed to pay employees for travel time between locations. LRWINS Hospitality LLC also failed to keep an accurate record of all the hours that employees worked. LRWINS Hospitality LLC had been investigated by WHD in the past, yet remained out of compliance, prompting the civil penalty for the repeat nature of the current violations.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to educate employers and enforce applicable laws to ensure employees are paid the wages they are due,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Hanz Grünauer, in Little Rock, Arkansas. “The Department is committed to leveling the playing field for employers who abide by the law and should not find themselves at an economic disadvantage to those who do not.”

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, electronic toolkits, or in-person visits with local WHD staff.

Employers who discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the Division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/whd, including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.